Sunday, September 04, 2005

A week of tears

As happens sometimes with moves things don't go the right way, SBC is having problems getting the phone line to work at the new place so don't have net connection at home. Yes it sucks and I miss not only writing but finding out more on the news. However the events of the past week have hit home to me that in the end, not having internet for a week is not a major crisis.

I've cried alot this week, seeing the destruction and the suffering that's happened in my second favorite city. I thought like many did that once New Orleans avoided the direct hit that they were going to be okay. Watching tv and not having any internet it's easy to see why people don't have a balance. The way some of these reporters have handled this story makes it easy to understand why so many people don't have a clue as to how things work. (Or are supposed to work) Did the Feds drop the ball? Yeah, they could have moved faster. However Louisiana and New Orleans knew this day would come. They also failed in preparing and protecting their citizens. Even for the poor they were told to come to the Superdome but to bring their own supplies. Had the local and state government made better evacuation and preparation plans, it would have been easier.

Here in Ohio we don't have hurricanes, but we do have blizzards, and other storms. We realize that there are going to be times when we have to prepare and be able to survive a few days if necessary. So while the media is blaming Bush for everything, some logic as to the responsibility of everyone else would be a welcome respite in this blame fest.

The poor should have had more options and safer options. No one should have been forced to stay there and face the hurricane. While there will always be those who chose not to leave? It should be an option.

Anyway, I should be back on line by Wednesday, if SBC actually gets it right and the repair guy shows up to fix whatever the problem is. I wish New Orleans could be fixed that easy.

1 comment:

historymike said...

Welcome back, Lisa!

Yes, this has been a week of sorrow and anger like nothing that I can remember.

Having only passed through New Orleans once in my life, I am saddened that I did not get to really know the city.

It is one of those places I wanted to spend a month in, not just to visit the tourist traps but into which I could really immmerse myself.

The federal government has rightly been slagged, but Louisiana state officials have also been negligent. I hesitate to criticize the New Orleans city government, because I understand that they have been cash-strapped for years, and it seems that they have been begging for help for decades.

The human suffering is beyond anything that this nation has ever seen in recent memory. I hope that the city and the Gulf region can recover from this; the calls from some people to let New Orleans die are worrisome.